Starting a new diet that requires hours of exercising each week is just not sustainable for most people. I am lucky to squeeze in a weekly half hour walk. There is no way I could manage putting in multiple hours at the gym. If you’re just starting keto you may be wondering is it possible to be successful losing weight without spending time exercising?
The whole concept behind the keto diet is to put your body into a state of ketosis. Your body is burning fat for fuel rather than sugar. This is achievable by changing your diet and does not require you to exercise. Once your body is in a state of ketosis and you’re burning fat you are going to start losing weight. Exercising regularly has it’s own health benefits that cannot be replaced by any diet.
Let’s take a closer look at how exercising has impacted my keto journey and discuss a couple of reasons why you may or may not choose to exercising.
My Keto Results
I started keto in January of 2019, about 6 months after giving birth to my daughter. At this time I weighed 150 lb, was in size 12 jeans and still had a flabby pouch where my stomach used to be. By August of 2019 I had dropped down to 117 lbs and size 4 jeans. I still had a bit of loose skin around my stomach but with a shirt on I’m the only one who could notice it was there. Since August I have hovered around 115 to 125 lbs and am currently at 121 lbs. I’ve achieved these results by changing my diet and living a somewhat busy lifestyle with minimal exercise.
I have a toddler at home so it’s very rare that I find myself sitting in one spot for very long. There is rarely time for dedicated exercise at my house and zero time spent at the gym. In fact I tried to start working out at the gym months ago and just recently cancelled my membership because I hadn’t been in months. I try to set a good example for my daughter by going for walks or getting out the mats for mom and baby yoga. I quickly found the example of showing her exercising is important and the quality time spent with her are the only real accomplishments. The pace of a two year old doesn’t get the heart pumping. I’m far from breaking a sweat waddling along the sidewalk or watching her try to stretch like a kitty.
Exercising has been my lowest priority for the last two years. I’m sure one day I’ll make time to go swim lengths at the local pool or go mountain biking like I used to because those are things I enjoy doing. For now I’m just enjoying my busy, exercise free, life and sticking to my low carb diet. So far eating a low carb diet has been enough to maintain a slim body.
Exercising While Starting Keto
We’ve established that exercising is not required to lose weight. However, if you’re beginning a keto diet for the first time and have decided that you’d like to start (or continue) to workout as you begin a keto diet be cautious about the intensity of your workouts when you first start out.
As the body switches from burning sugar as fuel to burning fat as fuel some people develop flu-like symptoms, which is known as the keto flu. Not every person develops the same symptoms and some people won’t experience the keto flu at all. If you develop symptoms of the keto flu you may want to consider reducing the intensity of your workouts or put them on hold for a few days until your body has adjusted to it’s new fuel supply. Once the keto flu has subsided (it usually goes away in a couple days) you should be good to go back to your regular routine. Some people say that they’re able to increase the intensity and have more stamina once they’re in ketosis. Others say that they don’t have the stamina they once had and have to scale back the intensity of their workout. Everyone’s body adapts differently.
Keto and Muscle Building
I think many people visualize losing weight with a nice toned muscular body. Losing fat is not the same as becoming fit and muscular. Usually when beginning a keto diet the number one goal is to lose weight. It’s easy to lose weight by decreasing your carb intake. It’s important to realize that the weight you are losing is fat. If you decide to skip the exercise while losing that fat you’re going to end up with a slim body. Muscles are not going to magically appear as you lose fat. If your goal is a nice toned muscular body then you need to exercise to build those muscles. When setting your goals distinguish whether you want to just lose fat or if you want to become fit and gain muscle.
It’s important to realize that losing weight, especially if you’re trying to build muscle at the same time, is not the same as losing fat. Generally speaking when someone says they want to lose weight they are trying to lose fat. Unfortunately many people narrow their focus on losing fat and don’t think about replacing it with muscle. If you decide you want to build muscle while losing fat you won’t see as much weight drop as someone who is not exercising. Muscle is much denser than fat. A pound of fat is bulky and about the size of a grapefruit. A pound of muscle is firm and about the size of a small orange. One pound of muscle takes up less space on your body than a pound of fat. You may need to measure your success based on other details that your scale doesn’t measure. Instead of setting a weight goal for yourself try measuring your success by the circumference of your waist, your pant size, your energy level or your confidence level when looking in the mirror.
Essentially exercising on keto is a personal choice based on your goals. If you are just starting out on keto I suggest that if exercise is already part of your routine then you keep it up. If you aren’t currently exercising you should plan to start once your body is fat adapted. Exercise, while not vital to keto success, is very important to your overall health.
